Tag: senior living leadership

The following is a recap from Varsity’s Roundtable, a weekly virtual gathering of senior living marketers and leaders from across the nation. For updates about future weekly Roundtable gatherings, submit your name and email address here. 

Senior living has a built-in advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining employees: the work has purpose. But purpose alone doesn’t create a strong workplace culture. Employees also want to feel valued, understand what’s expected of them and see their own values reflected in the organization. And despite plenty of talk about generational differences, those expectations cut across age groups.

Denise Boudreau, President of Drive, joined Varsity’s weekly Roundtable to explore what today’s workforce really wants and how senior living organizations can build cultures where people want to work, contribute and stay. Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from her discussion.

PURPOSE IS NOT A GENERATIONAL ISSUE

Workers across age groups are looking for greater meaning, balance and fulfillment at work. Denise shared data showing the importance of work-life balance actually increased with age. The opportunity for senior living is significant because purpose is already naturally built into the work.

EMPLOYEES WANT ACCOUNTABILITY, BUT ITS MEANING IS CHANGING

Accountability consistently ranks among employees’ most desired workplace values, but the conversation is shifting from holding others accountable to taking personal ownership. Employees want to understand what they are responsible for, where the organization is headed and how their work contributes to larger goals.

CULTURE CAN AND SHOULD BE MEASURED

Culture is more than a feeling. Denise emphasized using data to understand whether employees’ personal values align with what they actually experience at work. That alignment drives engagement, fulfillment and an employee’s ability to show up authentically.

STRONG CULTURE HAS A MEASURABLE BUSINESS IMPACT

Organizations with strong cultures saw 38% lower turnover than those with poor cultures. Stronger culture scores impact occupancy, including one organization where the strongest-culture sites averaged 94% occupancy compared with 66% at the weakest.

COMPENSATION ALONE WILL NOT SOLVE RETENTION

Paying a living wage matters, but Denise cited research showing toxic culture was 10.4 times more likely to drive employees away than compensation.  

The following is a recap from Varsity’s Roundtable, a weekly virtual gathering of senior living marketers and leaders from across the nation. For updates about future weekly Roundtable gatherings, submit your name and email address here. 

Retirement planning tends to focus heavily on finances, but leaving a career also means navigating major changes in identity, relationships, routine and purpose. For longtime senior living leaders, who spend their careers helping others navigate life transitions, experiencing that shift firsthand can bring an entirely new perspective on what it means to live with purpose as we age.

Larry Carlson, a longtime senior living innovator, joined Varsity’s weekly Roundtable to share his own journey into retirement and what he’s learned along the way. The conversation explored the difference between staying busy and finding purpose, separating identity from a job title and how senior living communities can help residents continue to contribute, serve and create what Larry calls a “living legacy.” Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from his discussion.

RETIREMENT REQUIRES MORE THAN FINANCIAL PLANNING

Leaving a career can mean losing the routines, relationships, influence and identity that shaped daily life for decades. Preparing emotionally and spiritually, and thinking about what a new “scorecard” looks like, can make the transition more purposeful.

PURPOSE IS DIFFERENT FROM STAYING BUSY

A full calendar doesn’t necessarily create fulfillment. Retirement can provide the freedom to shift from accomplishing to participating, choosing meaningful ways to mentor, serve, create and contribute without simply recreating another full-time job.

IDENTITY CAN OUTLAST THE JOB TITLE

For high achievers, separating who they are from what they do can be one of retirement’s biggest challenges. The transition creates an opportunity to rethink identity, establish a new rhythm and explore what might emerge when professional titles no longer define the day.

SENIOR LIVING SHOULD CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTRIBUTE

Communities can go beyond activities by viewing residents as citizens with experience, skills and purpose rather than simply consumers of services. Volunteering, mentoring, leading and serving can help residents continue building a meaningful “living legacy.”

RETIREMENT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ALL OR NOTHING

Experienced professionals may still want to contribute while gaining more time for family, travel and personal interests. Consulting, passion projects, flexible leadership roles and job sharing can provide a bridge between a demanding career and traditional retirement.

The following is a recap from Varsity’s Roundtable, a weekly virtual gathering of senior living marketers and leaders from across the nation. For updates about future weekly Roundtable gatherings, submit your name and email address here. 

Most older adults say they want to age in place, yet relatively few have developed a plan for how they’ll do it. That gap creates an opportunity for senior living providers to do more than market communities. It gives them a chance to become trusted guides, helping people think through one of life’s biggest decisions long before a move is on the horizon. That’s exactly what Ryan Frederick explored as a guest on Varsity’s weekly Roundtable. 

The author of Right Place, Right Time, founder of Here and leading voice on Place Planning shared how providers can engage prospects earlier, build trust through education instead of sales, and help people make more intentional decisions about where they’ll live as they age. Along the way, he explained why shifting conversations from amenities to quality of life can create stronger relationships and, ultimately, a healthier pipeline. Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from his discussion.

START THE CONVERSATION BEFORE THE MOVE IS IMMINENT

Many older adults haven’t developed a plan for where they’ll live as they age. By engaging people years before they’re ready to move, senior living providers can build trust, educate consumers and become a valued resource long before a housing decision is made.

LEAD WITH LIFE, NOT THE BUILDING

Conversations are more meaningful when they focus on a person’s health, relationships, finances and home rather than amenities and floor plans. Helping prospects reflect on how well their current situation supports the life they want often reveals needs they hadn’t recognized.

EDUCATION BUILDS TRUST BETTER THAN A SALES PITCH

Consumers are looking for objective guidance, not pressure. Providing a framework that helps people explore their options empowers them to make informed decisions and positions providers as trusted advisors rather than salespeople.

PLACE PLANNING ISN’T JUST FOR PEOPLE IN THEIR 70s

The best time to begin thinking about where you’ll live may be years before a move is necessary. Starting in your 50s or 60s gives people more flexibility to make intentional decisions that support long-term health, independence and quality of life.

SUCCESS SHOULD BE MEASURED BY RELATIONSHIPS, NOT JUST MOVE-INS

Early engagement expands the pool of people who know and trust your organization. As life circumstances change over time, those relationships naturally create more opportunities for future move-ins.

VARSITY’S FRESH PERSPECTIVE

Too often, senior living marketing begins when someone is already searching for a community. Place Planning reminds us that many of the most important decisions happen years before that first tour. Organizations that position themselves as trusted educators (not just providers) have an opportunity to build relationships much earlier in the journey.

For sales and marketing leaders, that means creating content, events and conversations that help people think about aging well, even if a move isn’t on the horizon. When the focus shifts from selling communities to helping people make better decisions, trust grows and so do future move-in opportunities.

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The following is a guest blog entry from Larry Carlson. Larry is an advisor, board member, and author of Avandell: Reimagining the Dementia Experience. A longtime CEO in senior living, he now writes and speaks about helping older adults finish strong — living with purpose, vitality, and impact in their third age.

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6:54 a.m… The day shift is gathered outside the nurses’ station. The charge nurse reviewed the overnight report, answered a few questions, then paused before dismissing the team.

“One reminder before we head out,” she said. “We’ve been talking a lot about giving residents more choice throughout the day. Before helping someone with their morning routine, don’t assume what they want. Ask. Give them options whenever you can.”

Heads nodded. The meeting ended. Within moments, nurses and certified nursing assistants disappeared into hallways and resident rooms to begin the day. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary shift report.

It wasn’t.

It was strategy being translated into behavior.

In senior living, strategic plans aren’t supposed to tell employees exactly what to do. They describe aspirations: resident-centered living, exceptional hospitality, employee engagement, operational excellence. Those are important goals. But they remain abstract ideas until someone translates them into behaviors that employees can understand, practice, and repeat.

That translation rarely happens in the boardroom or the executive conference room. It happens through frontline leaders.

Whether it’s a charge nurse beginning a shift, a dining manager preparing breakfast service, a life enrichment director reviewing the day’s activities, or a maintenance supervisor assigning work orders, every frontline leader faces the same challenge: How do I turn organizational priorities into today’s actions?

In my experience, organizations don’t struggle because they lack strategy. They struggle because strategy often loses clarity as it moves through the organization. The strongest organizations don’t simply communicate strategy well. They equip frontline leaders to translate it into behaviors employees can put into practice immediately.

Here are three ways leaders can make that happen.

1. TRANSLATE ASIPRATIONS INTO OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS

Many strategic plans emphasize concepts like service, quality, innovation, or resident-centered care. Those are important aspirations, but they aren’t behaviors. Employees can’t consistently perform an aspiration. They can perform a behavior.

Instead of asking teams to “improve hospitality,” identify the specific actions that demonstrate hospitality. Instead of encouraging “resident-centered care,” define the everyday behaviors that bring that commitment to life.

Clarity begins when employees know not only what matters—but what it looks like.

TRY THIS:

At your next leadership meeting, choose one strategic priority and ask: “If a new employee started tomorrow, what would they actually see someone doing if we were living out this priority?”

If the answers vary widely, your strategy may still be too abstract.

2. EQUIP FRONTLINE LEADERS TO BECOME TRANSLATORS

Frontline leaders are the bridge between organizational vision and daily execution.

The CEO introduces strategy. Department leaders develop plans. But supervisors, charge nurses, managers, and team leads are the ones who answer the question employees ask every morning: “What does this mean for me today?”

When frontline leaders understand not only the strategy, but also the behaviors that support it, execution becomes remarkably more consistent across the organization.

TRY THIS:

During your next supervisors’ meeting, ask each frontline leader to identify one strategic priority and explain how they would translate it for a new employee beginning today’s shift.

The goal isn’t to repeat the strategic plan. It’s to translate it into language employees can immediately act upon.

3. MEASURE BEHAVIORS BEFORE OUTCOMES

Organizations naturally focus on outcomes—resident satisfaction, employee engagement, occupancy, quality measures, and financial performance.

Those metrics matter. But they are lagging indicators. Long before those results appear on a dashboard, employees have already been practicing the behaviors that created them.

Leaders who regularly observe, coach, reinforce, and recognize desired behaviors are far more likely to achieve the outcomes they seek.

Behavior comes first.

Results follow.

TRY THIS:

Choose one strategic priority for the next 30 days and identify two or three observable behaviors that support it. Then intentionally reinforce those behaviors during team meetings, coaching conversations, recognition moments, and daily rounding.

What leaders consistently reinforce eventually becomes organizational culture.

A few minutes after the morning huddle ended, one of the certified nursing assistants quietly knocked on Mrs. Anderson’s door. “Good morning, Mrs. Anderson,” she said with a smile. “Would you like to get dressed before breakfast today, or would you rather enjoy your coffee first?”

Mrs. Anderson smiled. “I think I’d like my coffee first.”

It was a simple conversation. No one would have recognized it as strategy. But that was exactly what it was.

A strategic commitment to resident choice had been translated by a frontline leader into one simple behavior—and then carried out by a caregiver who understood exactly what it looked like.

That’s how successful senior living organizations execute strategy. Not through strategic plans. Not through mission statements. Not even through leadership meetings.

But through ordinary interactions repeated every day by people who understand what the strategy looks like in practice.

One employee.

One interaction at a time.

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The following is a guest blog entry from Larry Carlson. Larry is an advisor, board member, and author of Avandell: Reimagining the Dementia Experience. A longtime CEO in senior living, he now writes and speaks about helping older adults finish strong — living with purpose, vitality, and impact in their third age.

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The retreat ended an hour ago.

The CEO of a senior living organization stood near the back of the conference room while members of the leadership team gathered notebooks, coffee cups, and half-finished conversations before heading out the door.

The conversation had been good. Honest. Productive.

They had spent the entire morning talking about alignment—vision, priorities, culture, communication. Whiteboards filled with ideas. Strategic goals clarified. Department leaders nodding in agreement. For the first time in a while, it felt like everyone was rowing in the same direction.

But by Tuesday afternoon, small cracks had already begun to appear.

One department interpreted the priorities one way. Another moved in a different direction. A manager communicated something inconsistently to frontline caregivers and community staff. A decision made in one meeting quietly contradicted what had been emphasized in another.

Nothing dramatic. Nothing malicious. Just drift.

And that’s usually how misalignment begins. Not through resistance. Through assumption. Because alignment isn’t created in the meeting where everyone agrees. It’s created afterward—in the small moments where leaders either reinforce clarity… or unintentionally weaken it.

In my experience, there are three places where that drift shows up most clearly.

1. The “Say-Do” Gap — When behavior contradicts the message

Most organizations have clear values. The challenge is whether everyday leadership behavior consistently reflects them.

Leaders say people matter—but only numbers get celebrated. Teams are encouraged to collaborate—but silo behavior gets tolerated. Culture is described as essential—until a high performer starts producing results and suddenly gets a different set of rules.

None of these moments seem large on their own. But over time, people begin paying less attention to what leaders say and more attention to what leaders actually reinforce.

That’s when trust starts to erode.

Because alignment doesn’t happen through messaging alone. It happens when behavior and priorities consistently match the message being communicated.

TRY THIS:

Ask your leadership team: “Where might our actions unintentionally be contradicting our message?”

Don’t rush past the conversation. The answers are often more revealing than leaders expect.

2. Priority Overload — When everything becomes important

Sometimes teams drift simply because they’re overwhelmed.

A new initiative gets introduced before the previous one is fully embedded. Priorities shift. Meetings multiply. Messaging expands. And eventually, people stop knowing what matters most. In those environments, confusion often gets mistaken for poor execution.

But many senior living teams aren’t resisting leadership. They’re struggling to interpret it.

Confused teams don’t become aligned through more communication. They become aligned through clearer priorities. The best leaders understand that clarity often requires subtraction—not addition.

TRY THIS:

At the end of your next leadership meeting, ask: “If team members remembered only one thing from this conversation, what should it be?”

If leaders answer differently, alignment may already be slipping.

3. Inconsistent Reinforcement — When clarity fades over time

Most organizational initiatives begin with energy. The rollout is strong. Communication is clear. Expectations are visible. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, reinforcement begins to fade.

The language stops showing up in meetings. Accountability softens. Recognition shifts elsewhere. The initiative quietly disappears beneath the next urgent priority. And eventually, people conclude: “I guess this doesn’t really matter anymore.”

Culture follows repetition.

What leaders consistently reinforce becomes organizational reality. What leaders stop reinforcing slowly disappears—regardless of how important it once sounded. Alignment isn’t sustained through intention. It’s sustained through rhythm.

TRY THIS:

Choose one value, behavior, or operational priority and intentionally reinforce it for the next 30 days:

• team meetings
• recognition
• coaching conversations
• decision-making discussions

Consistency creates clarity.

Back in that conference room, the retreat itself wasn’t the problem. The strategy may have been sound. The conversations may have been sincere. But alignment is never a one-time event.

It’s a leadership discipline. And over time, teams stop listening primarily to what leaders say. They begin watching what leaders repeat, reinforce, and protect.

Eventually, that becomes the culture.

 

The following is a recap from Varsity’s Roundtable, a weekly virtual gathering of senior living marketers and leaders from across the nation. For updates about future weekly Roundtable gatherings, submit your name and email address here. 

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Art has the power to do something facts and statistics often can’t: change the way people see one another. In senior living, where outdated stereotypes about aging still influence everything from marketing to everyday interactions, creativity can become a powerful tool for reshaping perceptions and celebrating the richness of later life. 

That’s exactly the focus of Meg LaPorte and Jordan Evans, co-founders of Art Against Ageism, who joined Varsity’s weekly Roundtable to share how storytelling, public art and interactive experiences are helping challenge ageism and inspire more authentic conversations about aging. Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from their discussion.

AGEISM IS OFTEN INVISIBLE UNTIL YOU LOOK FOR IT

Age bias often appears in subtle ways, from marketing imagery to everyday language. Regularly auditing communications and customer experiences can uncover hidden stereotypes.

PUBLIC ART CAN STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Murals and interactive installations invite engagement, generate conversation and help position senior living as an active part of the local community.

AUTHENTICITY BUILDS TRUST

Showing real residents, real experiences and everyday life creates more credible storytelling and helps families connect before they ever visit.

SMALL EXPERIENCES CAN CHANGE BIG BELIEFS

Interactive activations don’t have to be elaborate. Simple, thoughtful experiences can spark conversations that reshape perceptions of aging.

STORIES BRING PEOPLE TO LIFE

Portraits capture attention, but personal stories create emotional connection and help audiences see people instead of stereotypes.

FIGHTING AGEISM TAKES AN ORGANIZATION-WIDE EFFORT

Marketing matters, but lasting change also comes from staff, partnerships and everyday interactions that celebrate aging with dignity.

The future of senior living may depend less on new buildings and amenities and more on whether the industry is willing to rethink culture, autonomy and the resident experience itself. In this episode of Varsity’s Roundtable Talk, Derek sits down with Steve Moran, founder and publisher of Senior Living Foresight, one of the industry’s most influential media platforms.

Known for his candid commentary and sharp observations, Moran has spent years challenging operators to rethink leadership, culture, transparency and the overall resident experience. Derek and Steve discuss why the industry may have more of a culture crisis than a staffing crisis, how operators can better empower residents and families and why storytelling may be the key to changing perceptions of senior living for future generations.

Check out the full episode here.

WHAT’S THE REAL STORY IN SENIOR LIVING RIGHT NOW THAT PEOPLE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT ENOUGH?

As you know, we have great occupancy. We’ve had the best occupancy that we have ever had in my lifetime. And that’s really, really good news. What’s interesting to me, there are two things that are really interesting to me. The first is that when I talk to operators and leaders, there seems to be a sense of apprehension or fear like, ‘This is really good, but it feels like disaster is just around the corner.’ Probably some of that’s from the COVID hangover.

The other thing is we have operators who are just crushing it at huge margins and huge occupancies, while there are still some people out there that are really, really struggling. So much of it comes down to the operator and how they run their business because it can be super successful or really, really tough.”

ARE SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES TRULY ALIGNED WITH WHAT TODAY’S OLDER ADULT WANTS?

There’s this widespread belief that baby boomers are going to want something very different. I think there are a few things, but mostly as we get older, we’re going to want the same things people have always wanted.

Part of the biggest problem is that if we’re honest about the industry, senior living is still the last resort. I choose senior living when I can no longer live at home. That might mean I don’t want to take care of my yard anymore, I don’t want to cook or grocery shop anymore or it might mean I have real care needs. I’m not sure the industry is fully aligned with what people actually want because too often the focus is on providing the least amount of service at the lowest cost to maximize margins.

WHAT ARE OPERATORS DOING WELL RIGHT NOW — AND WHAT ARE THEY STILL GETTING WRONG?

I think operators are getting dining pretty right. They understand that dining is one place they touch residents’ lives three times a day. I think transportation is improving too and communities are building better physical spaces.

But I think they’re still not giving residents enough control over their own lives. I heard from a resident recently who said they were thrilled because residents had finally won the ability to choose what channel played on the TV behind the bar four days a week. And I’m thinking, this shouldn’t even be a battle. Those are the kinds of things I think we’re still getting wrong.

IS THE WORKFORCE CRISIS REALLY A STAFFING PROBLEM?

I don’t think we have a real staffing crisis. I think we have a culture crisis.

As long as there are people willing to work at McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Starbucks, we don’t have a staffing shortage. We have organizations that haven’t created cultures where people feel valued, appreciated and connected to purpose.

When you create a great work environment where people feel like they’re changing lives and love coming to work every day, they tell their friends about it. Goodwin House gets something like 900 applications a month. They hire the best people and the rest go elsewhere. That tells me the problem isn’t a lack of workers. It’s culture.

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The following is a guest blog entry from Larry Carlson. Larry is an advisor, board member, and author of Avandell: Reimagining the Dementia Experience. A longtime CEO in senior living, he now writes and speaks about helping older adults finish strong — living with purpose, vitality, and impact in their third age.

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It’s Monday morning. The numbers came in late Friday.

They’re down. Again. Not dramatically. Not enough to cause alarm. But enough to feel it.

She’s already run through the explanations in her head. Seasonality. Market shifts. Increased competition. All true.

None of it changes the number.

She walks into the conference room a few minutes early. The team will be in soon—sales, operations, nursing. They’ll be looking to her for direction. For tone. She knows what the conversation needs to cover.

Leads. Conversions. Follow-up. Urgency.

She also knows something else. What gets said in this room today won’t just shape the next 30 days. It will shape the culture. Because under pressure, something subtle begins to happen.

Standards start to bend. Language starts to shift. Decisions get made a little faster, and a little differently.

Not all at once. But enough. And for a moment, there’s a choice. When occupancy drops, the real risk isn’t the number. It’s what leaders are willing to trade to fix it. Because census pressure doesn’t just test your strategy. It reveals your culture.

Maybe you’ve been in a room like that.

In my experience, there are three places where that shows up most clearly.

Early Warning Signs – When culture starts to slip

Culture rarely breaks all at once. It erodes quietly. A phrase here. A decision there. A moment that doesn’t quite sit right—but gets rationalized and moved past.

Language begins to change. Residents become “units.” Move-ins become “wins.” Conversations become more about pace than people.

High performers—especially in sales—may begin to get a little more latitude. Not intentionally. But because the pressure to produce is real. And slowly, what was once non-negotiable starts to feel… flexible.

The challenge is that none of this looks like a problem in isolation. But over time, it becomes the culture.

TRY THIS: 

Before your next leadership meeting, ask yourself—and your team:

“What have we started tolerating in the past 30 days that we wouldn’t have accepted before?”

Don’t rush past the answers. That’s where culture is either being protected… or traded.

Decision-Making Under Pressure – Where values get tested

Most organizations don’t abandon their values. They just begin to reinterpret them under pressure. The conversation shifts.

“This is what we believe… but in this case…”

“We wouldn’t normally do this… but given where we are…”

And often, the decision itself doesn’t feel dramatic. It feels reasonable. Necessary, even. That’s what makes it dangerous. Because culture isn’t shaped by the decisions you’re proud of. It’s shaped by the ones you justify.

Pressure doesn’t create values conflict. It exposes it. And in those moments, leadership isn’t about having the right answer. It’s about having the discipline to pause long enough to see what’s at stake.

TRY THIS: 

Before making a key decision, ask:

“If this decision became visible to every team member, would it strengthen trust… or weaken it?”

You may still make the same call. But you’ll make it consciously.

Communication – Setting tone without creating fear

When census is down, teams don’t just look for direction. They look for signals. What matters now? What’s changing? What’s not?

Some leaders respond by increasing pressure. More urgency. More accountability. More focus on the number. Others go the opposite direction—softening the message, trying to protect morale by minimizing the reality. Neither approach builds trust.

Because your team already knows. They see the numbers. They feel the shift. What they need isn’t spin. They need clarity—and steadiness.

The ability to say: Yes, this matters. Yes, we feel it. And no, it doesn’t change who we are. That’s what anchors a team. Not the absence of pressure. But the presence of leadership within it.

TRY THIS: 

In your next team communication, name both sides clearly:

• The reality you’re facing
• The values that won’t change because of it

Say it out loud. And then live it in the decisions that follow.

In that Monday morning meeting, the numbers will get discussed. They should. Plans will be made. Expectations clarified. But something else is happening at the same time. Your team is watching. Not just for direction. For signals.

What matters now? What’s negotiable? Who are we under pressure?

And over time, those signals become your culture. Not because you declared it. But because you led it, especially when it was hardest to do so.

Everybody in senior living is talking about the workforce crisis. Fewer people entering caregiving. more older adults needing support, rising pressure on operators, care teams and families. But underneath all of those conversations is a reality the industry can’t avoid anymore: the future of caregiving and the future of immigration are becoming increasingly connected. 

For many organizations, this is no longer just a policy conversation. It’s a people conversation, a culture conversation and ultimately a care delivery conversation.

That topic drove a powerful discussion during Varsity’s quarterly Executive Roundtable last week where we were joined by Rob Liebreich, President & CEO of Goodwin Living, and Lindsay Hutter, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Goodwin Living. Together, they shared how Goodwin Living is approaching immigration advocacy, workforce development and employee support at a time when caregiver demand continues to outpace supply across the country. 

Said Lindsay during the presentation, “If we as a nation didn’t welcome global workers, we would not have the hearts, the heads and the hands to care for the older adults when they are at that stage of living.”

Their conversation explored the emotional realities facing immigrant caregivers, why advocacy has strengthened trust inside their organization and how older adults themselves are emerging as important voices in the workforce conversation. Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from their discussion. 

CAREGIVING IS A WORKFORCE MATH PROBLEM, NOT JUST A POLICY DEBATE

As the caregiver support ratio continues to shrink, senior living organizations are confronting a simple reality: there are not enough caregivers to meet growing demand. Immigration is increasingly tied to workforce sustainability and long-term care access.

IMMIGRANT CAREGIVERS BRING CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, NOT JUST LABOR

Many immigrant caregivers come from multigenerational households where caring for older adults is deeply ingrained. That lived experience often translates into stronger patience, empathy and attentiveness in caregiving environments, challenging the misconception that these roles are simply “jobs people take.”

ADVOCACY BUILDS INTERNAL TRUST AS MUCH AS EXTERNAL AWARENESS

Goodwin Living’s public stance around immigration and workforce issues strengthened loyalty and engagement among employees because team members saw leadership actively standing behind them. Values-driven advocacy became a culture-building strategy, even though that was never the original intention.

OLDER ADULTS ARE EMERGING AS A POWERFUL ADVOCACY VOICE

Residents and older adults are becoming active participants in workforce conversations because they directly understand what caregiver shortages mean for their quality of life. Efforts like the “Seniors Care for Caregivers” campaign demonstrate how resident voices can influence public awareness and policymaker attention.

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WORKFORCE STRATEGIES ARE LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS

Competitive wages alone are not enough. Organizations are pairing living wages with leadership development, continuing education, retirement benefits and mentorship programs to create long-term career pathways and improve retention across caregiving roles.

Download Goodwin Living’s Citizenship Program Playbook for practical insights on supporting immigrant team members, strengthening workforce stability and building long-term caregiving pathways inside your organization.

Senior living’s biggest opportunity may not be occupancy or operations. It may be human connection. The communities people truly want to be part of are the ones built around trust, culture, communication and meaningful relationships for both residents and families.

That was a major theme during a recent conversation on Varsity’s weekly Roundtable featuring Steve Moran, publisher of Senior Living Foresight and one of the industry’s most recognized voices on senior living culture, workforce challenges and innovation. During a candid Q&A, Steve shared what the industry is overlooking, where operators are getting it right (and wrong) and what senior living must do to better align with the expectations of a new generation of older adults. Below are a few Fresh Perspectives from the discussion.

CULTURE, NOT STAFFING, IS THE REAL CHALLENGE

The communities winning on workforce aren’t magically finding more people, they’re building cultures where employees actually want to stay, grow and feel valued.

FAMILY EXPERIENCE IS THE NEXT BIG OPPORTUNITY

Senior living often focuses heavily on residents while overlooking the emotional and logistical burden carried by families. Communities that intentionally support caregivers will build deeper trust and loyalty.

CONNECTION IS THE MOST UNDERSERVED NEED IN SENIOR LIVING

The biggest differentiator may not be amenities or programming, but helping residents and families form real friendships and meaningful human relationships.

TRANSPARENCY BUILDS TRUST, EVEN WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Families don’t expect perfection. They expect honesty. Communities that communicate openly about challenges, mistakes and solutions create stronger long-term trust.

SENIOR LIVING MUST BECOME MORE ASPIRATIONAL

Most people still move into senior living as a last resort. The future belongs to communities that people choose earlier for lifestyle, purpose, connection and belonging.

LONGEVITY ISN’T ENOUGH WITHOUT QUALITY OF LIFE

The industry has become better at extending life, but it still struggles with how to support emotional well-being, cognition and purpose as people age.

THE WINNERS WILL PRIORITIZE PEOPLE OVER MARGINS

The most successful organizations over the next decade will be the ones known for exceptional care, communication, trust and human connection, not just operational efficiency.

KEY QUESTIONS

What is the biggest challenge facing senior living today?

While staffing shortages often dominate the conversation, Steve Moran argues the bigger issue is culture. Communities that create supportive, engaging workplace environments are often the ones attracting and retaining strong team members.

Why is family engagement becoming more important in senior living?

Families play a major role in the senior living experience, emotionally, financially and logistically. Communities that communicate well and intentionally support caregivers can build stronger trust, loyalty and long-term relationships.

How can senior living communities create stronger human connection?

The most impactful communities help residents and families build authentic relationships and friendships, not just participate in activities or events. Social connection may become one of the industry’s biggest differentiators moving forward.

What will define the most successful senior living communities in the future?

According to Steve Moran, the organizations that thrive long term will prioritize exceptional care, transparency, communication and human connection over simply focusing on operational efficiency and margins.